Empower. Inspire. Connect
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EMPOWER. INSPIRE. CONNECT 28 SEPTEMBER - 2 OCTOBER 2020 PRESENTED BY ORGANISED BY SUPPORTING PARTNERS FOREWORD Future Female started as a dream of mine. I dreamt of a place where women like me are free to be ourselves, and pursue the life that we want. Along the journey, I crossed paths with people that shared this passion of mine. We joined together, putting in our heart and sweats, to make this space come true. I want to thank Study Melbourne – Emma, Diana and James, for your unwavering support towards international students and this conference. I also want to thank Victoria University – Natalie and Jasmin, for your trust, patience and expertise. Last but not least, the committee, Cheng, Sean, Prajuli and Veronica – your unique contribution is what makes Future Female special. This year has been tumultuous for everyone to say the least. For international students, it has been particularly challenging to go through a global pandemic being away from home, facing all the uncertainties alone. We decided to do our best in delivering Future Female to our community, hoping that this conference will continue to bring hope and stability to you, and to connect us together, even if it has to be through a computer screen. Future Female 2020 will bring to you a panel of inspiring and dynamic women each day. We will focus on topics that are relevant to our ever-changing world, the opportunities for us as future females, and the long-lasting impact that we can make. We hope that you will enjoy the sessions as much as we enjoyed crafting them. We also hope that you get the chance to make meaningful connections, and find some solace during this uncertain time that is 2020. We want to thank all the speakers for sharing the experience, knowledge and personal stories of theirs with our audience. Stay well x Belle Lim Future Female Conference Convenor WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINE AND IN LEADERSHIP MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 12PM-1.30PM SESSION SPONSOR Globally, women are powerful agents in delivering tremendous, positive changes. From the domestic division of labour to business, social or community leadership, the world has witnessed women increasingly putting themselves on the frontline to create economic, social and political progress in our society. This year, the severe impacts of the public health crisis like COVID-19, climate change, humanitarian crisis, etc. have seen women stepping up into significant roles in essential work and in the leadership of countries and communities to heal and protect the world. Evidence strongly shows that when women are meaningfully represented and engaged in leadership roles, decisions made are more likely to be inclusive and diverse. Still, women continue to be under-represented in decision-making in politics, businesses, and communities. Women as well are under-acknowledged for all the unpaid and even low-paid work that they have delivered. Also, racism in many contexts of the world continues disadvantaging Black, Indigenous and women of colour in achieving their full potential in our societies. On the other hand, male allyship is also crucial in closing the gap by calling all men to share domestic and social responsibilities as well as recognising women in leadership and lifting each other. In this session, you are encouraged to engage with our speakers across the fields to look at different contemporary models and examples of women in leadership and frontline, bringing significant changes. Besides, concerning the racism and gendered power relations as the obstacles that limit women to attain their highest and equal benefits, the session will also address the way to overcome solidarity with global moments. MODERATOR DILPREET TAGGAR Founder of South Asian Today Dilpreet Taggar is an independent journalist and the founder of Australia’’s first multimedia platform, South Asian Today. She exclusively publishes content for South Asian women and non-binary folks. Born and raised in India, Dilpreet came to Australia 3 years ago to do her master’s degree and has since been working on bridging the gap between the South Asian community and their media representation. Having worked with Al Jazeera, ABC News and The Conversation, she is a feminist and hopes to change the media discourse around People of Colour and developing countries in South Asia. SPEAKERS SPICA A. TUTUHATUNEWA Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Melbourne Ibu Spica A. Tutuhatunewa is the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Melbourne. She is one of our key speakers at this year’s conference to recognize their accomplishments and inspire women on the frontline and leadership. Ibu Spica has served as Counsellor at Indonesian Embassy to Austria and Permanent Missions of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations in Vienna and in Washington DC as a third secretary at Indonesian Embassy to the USA. She has experience training young diplomats and has represented in many international conferences related to Corruption, Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice, Drug trafficking and People Smuggling. Ibu Spica holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Pattimura University, Ambon-Moluccas, and a master’s degree in political and Social Sciences (International Relations) from the University of Indonesia, Jakarta. FUTURE FEMALE 2020 GÖNÜL SERBEST Chief Executive Officer of Global Victoria Gönül Serbest is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Victoria, responsible for leading the Government’s global engagement efforts. She manages the State’s international network of 22 trade and investment offices. Over her years working as both Deputy Secretary and Executive Director, Gönul has hugely contributed to executing the largest trade missions to leave Australia into emerging markets and largest inbound trade delegations to visit Victoria. Gönül was awarded the Top 50 Victorian Women in the public service in August 2018 and made Smart Company’s Honour Roll for the Top 100 Australian female business leaders in March 2018. She has a passion for international engagement and supporting platforms and initiatives that empower young leaders and women to actively engage in areas of trade, culture and politics. DR UMBER RIND General Practitioner Dr Umber Rind is a Yamatji Badimaya woman born in Perth, Western Australia, to Afghan/Baloch Cameleer and Aboriginal ancestry. She is a General Practitioner and her new practice focuses on Women’s health as well as providing a safe and respectful place for refugees and Indigenous people to receive healthcare. Dr Umber enjoys community work and works in both health education and anti-racism spaces. She has been an executive board member of the Islamic Council of Victoria. MAZITA MARZUKI Consul General of Malaysia in Melbourne Mazita Marzuki is a senior Malaysian Diplomat and the current Consul General of Malaysia in Melbourne. Before her position within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mazita has also served the Penang State Government. Her career started in the corporate world in the broadcasting field. She is one of our speakers at this year’s conference to raise awareness of women’s rights and safety around the world. FUTURE FEMALE 2020 CULTIVATING INNER CONFIDENCE TUESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 12PM-1.30PM Confidence is one of the key stepping stones in the development of our leadership skills. Women’s agency, including the sense of confidence, has been taken away from ourselves by centuries of the intertwining oppression of patriarchy, colonisation, racism and ableism in different cultures and societies in the world. The idea of leadership, confidence and ambitions are often at odds with traditional gender roles that we inherit. In a conservative environment, young girls are raised with the idea that they are inferior to boys and are only capable of the domestic division of labour within the family and educational system. This translates to women having a tendency to undermine their skills and experience when seeking employment in comparison to men as found by various studies. In different societies, women of colour, disabled, or transgender continue to disenfranchise them because of stigmatisation and structural discrimination. There is a rise in the world, with many women thriving by regaining their agency and confidence in various arenas. In this session, we will explore the inner journeys that the speakers have overcome, discuss ways to articulate and put forward our inherent skills, and how to reconcile with some of our cultural expectations. MODERATOR BELLE LIM Future Female Convenor & Curator Belle Lim is a cancer researcher, women’s rights advocate and the convenor of the Future Female conference. Currently serving as the National President of the Council of International Students Australia (CISA), Belle and her team represents over 700,000 international students in Australia at a national level. She is committed to advocating for the welfare and rights of international students, and to drive the conversation around the inclusion of international students as part of the Australian community. With the support of Study Melbourne, Belle founded Future Female in 2019, and is delivering the conference for the second consecutive year alongside a committee of excellent, passionate international students and recent graduates. Belle completed a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences as the Gold Medalist at Monash University, where she received a full scholarship to undertake a PhD degree. Her research focus is on genetic predisposition of breast cancer, based at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. SPEAKERS ALICE PUNG Writer & Lawyer Alice Pung is an award-winning writer, lawyer, inspirational speaker and a teacher who loves teaching young students. Her books are studied in secondary schools and universities in Australia as well as the United States. She has conducted writing workshops to students from the ages of 8 to 80 in Australia. Alice is also an Ambassador of 100 Story Building Project, a social enterprise which promotes literature and literacy skills to young students in the western suburbs.